Commerce plans to move CAISI under direct White House oversight

The federal government’s main AI testing shop may be getting a new boss. The Commerce Department plans to move the Center for AI Standards and Innovation, known as CAISI, so that it reports directly to the White House. Commerce frames the plan as a fix for management and resource problems at the agency. What CAISI does and what could change CAISI sits inside the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, which is part of the Commerce Department. Its job is voluntary testing, evaluation, and standards work for frontier AI models. That voluntary model has been central to the agency’s work with major developers. CAISI has collaborated with firms including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft, which gives it a seat at the table in how US AI governance takes shape. The proposed change would shift who the agency answers to. Under the plan, CAISI officials would report to the White House rather than through the usual Commerce and NIST chain of command. A rebrand, a revolving door, and a new executive order CAISI has not always been CAISI. The Trump administration rebranded it in June 2025. Before that, it was the US AI Safety Institute. Since then, the agency has had trouble keepin...